Hurt
by Matatabi-chan
Summary: When Mako is hurt, Korra leaves her duties to help him recover.


I DO NOT OWN THE LEDGEND OF KORRA OR ANY CHARACTERS OR IDEAS FROM THE SHOW!

Mako was walking through the dimly light streets of Republic City when he heard commotion making him look back the way he had come to see five police cars zoom down the connecting street. Turning he rushed after them, to have that many police officers rushing through the city late in the evening he knew something was wrong. Winding through the dark streets, he found a large fight breaking out between officers and rouge Equalists the police were still trying to flush from the city. Amon may be gone, his secret may be out but they still believed in his mission. They had caused small riots and fights throughout the city. Lin had placed Mako in charge of a small force of bender police and they had been breaking apart the clusters of the Equalists, they had no problems putting a stop to the groups' attempts.

"Sir!" He heard from one of his men who had also seen the commotion and ran.

"Keep their attention." Mako told one of the men who was in the cars. Mako and his man split and disappeared in the allies to the sides. The two snuck around and stood across from each other. Mako gave a slight nod before the two men started at the group from the back, forcing the enemies to fight from two sides. Mako incapacitated three before one twisted out of the way as a second moved around her and ran the electric rods into his chest, locking Mako between a wall and the rods as the electric went to his heart with no hope to redirect it. The others were taken down and his man took down the woman electrocuting Mako.

"Sir!" He called as Mako's body dropped to the ground. "Mako!" He yelled as another team member ran over.

She knelt down and reached out feeling for a pulse. "What happened, Gin?" She asked before she looked up startled.

"He was electrocuted." Gin watched as the woman pulled electricity to her fingertips before pressing it to Mako's chest making his body jolt.

"Call the healers. We need to get him to the hospital." She told Gin. "His heart is beating again but he needs a lot of healing." Other officers ran over and they all started crowding around. "Someone help me get him to the hospital." Several officers reached out and helped pick Mako up.

Bolin rushed into the hospital with Asami and Tenzin close behind. "Where is he? Is he okay?" Bolin asked worried his brother had been killed and he would be left alone. Lin stood up from the chair in the waiting room and walked over to them. "Where's my brother?"

"He's getting taken care of." Lin told him. "They said he'll be okay but his heart took a hard hit from the shock."

"I want to see him." Bolin started towards the doors.

Lin put her hand on Bolin's shoulder stopping him. "They'll come out when he's settled and healed. We just have to be patient until then." Bolin looked at her then slumped as he looking back to the doors.

"Anyone get a hold of Korra?" Bolin asked softly.

"We'll let her know." Lin said. "She shouldn't have to be worried about a friend while she's preforming Avatar duties." Bolin turned around to argue but saw Asami shake her head to stop him. "What?" Lin asked but Bolin only turned away to slumped his shoulders again.

"Korra needs to work on her duties right now. The healers will take care of Mako and she can be told when she's done." Tenzin told the two.

"She really needs to be told." Asami said. "She finds out this happened and no one told her she'll be furious."

"She has her duties; her friends are not a part of that right now." Tenzin said. "I will send word to her when things calm down." Bolin looked at the doors, willing a doctor to come out. "Just sit and wait for the doctors." The group settled down to wait for any news of Mako.

Two hours later the doors swung open and a man in all white walked out. Bolin jumped to his feet followed by the others. "Are you Mako's family?"

"Is my brother okay?!" Bolin blurted out.

"Your brother is resting comfortably for now. We were able to heal most of the damage but he will be out for a while as he heals the rest of the way. It's better for his body to heal the small things after the healer took care of the major injuries." The doctor explained.

Bolin felt tears of relief in his eyes. He thought he was going to lose his brother. "Can I see him?" The doctor nodded and led the group through the doors and down the hall to Mako's room. Bolin looked over his brother, seeing the wires and all the white, he felt his chest tighten as a memory flashed through his head.

Bolin and Mako standing in a room with their parents lying on white beds. An 8-year-old Mako grabbed his 4-year-old brother and held him tight as he cried for their lost parents. "It'll be okay Bo." He said softly.

"When you two are ready there's an officer here to take you somewhere safe." A nurse said from behind them.

"We want to go home." Mako told her as Bolin clung to him.

"Sweetheart, you can't go home. You don't have anyone to take care of you. Take your time and come out when you're ready." The nurse walked away and shut the door leaving the two brothers alone. Mako held his brother tightly as they stood between their parents. Mako held his brother tight with their father's scarf clenched in his fist from earlier.

"Come on." He said tugging his brother towards the door. "I'm not going to let them take us away where they can take you away from me." He said as he opened the door and peaked around the corner. He grabbed his brother's arm.

"Hey! Kid!" He heard and Bolin looked back but Mako held his hand tight and continued. "Hey. Stop! Kid!" The man started running after them as a nurse reached for them. Mako used a trick his father had taught him when he learned he was a fire bender, expanding the flames from him to create a sphere as they ran. Suddenly Bolin pulled his hand from his brothers and turned towards the people.

"Bo!" Mako screamed as he spun but saw his brother jump with a wide stance causing the floor of the hallway to crash into the ceiling before he turned with a silly grin. Mako took a minute to smile at his brother's abilities before he grabbed his hand and started again.

Bolin blinked now seeing his brother lying in the bed, unconscious. He could not imagine not having his big brother by his side taking care of him and just being there for him. Slowly he made his way over to the bedside as Asami went to the other side sadly. Tenzin and Lin stood at the door looking over the scene. The young adults before them had become like their own children and seeing them all so hurt went right to their hearts. They knew they would need to tell Korra as well but she also had her duties to worry about. Tenzin decided to wait a little while longer, to see if Mako's condition changed before he sent word to her.

"We have to tell Korra." Asami said softly. "She needs to know." Bolin gave a small nod as he sat looking at his unconscious brother. "He'll be okay." She told him as she reached over to grab his hand.

"Can you tell Korra?" He asked softly. "I want to stay here. In case he wakes up." He looked around the room and found Mako's jacket off to the side. He could see the burn marks in the chest as he walked over to it. He picked it up with a small smirk. "He carries her newest letter with him." He told her as he dug into the pockets to find a folded paper. "She tells him how she is and where she is when she can't call." He pulled out the paper and handed it to Asami with a small sniffle. "This came a day ago."

Asami unfolded it and found a second paper. One page she recognized Korra's handwriting and the others was Mako's, an unsent letter. She looked over the letters and smiled, Mako and Korra were in love, there was nothing to change that. She found the line Korra had told Mako where she was. "I'll take care of it. You stay with your brother. Let me know if you need anything." Bolin nodded and went back to Mako while Asami slipped from the room.

Asami made it to the temple and sat in her room to read over the letter to make sure that the first line was the correct location of Korra. As she read, she could not help but smile reading Korra's words to Mako. She paused before pulling the phone on her desk closer as she started dialing a friend of hers in Ba Sing Se.

"Hello?" A female answered.

"Ming?" Asami asked. "It's Asami."

"Asami! It's been too long." Ming said making Asami smirk.

Asami would love to talk to her friend but she needed to get a hold of Korra. "I have a favor I need."

"Sure. Name it."

"I need you to get a message to the king." Asami heard her friend sigh. "I need to get a message to the Avatar."

"The avatar?"

"Yes, she's a friend of mine and I need to talk to her. Can you please just get a message to her telling her to call home?" Asami asked, hoping she would hear from Korra soon.

"I'll try my best." Ming told her.

"Thank you. I owe you one." The two said their good byes and Asami sat back to wait for Korra to call.

Asami heard the phone ringing two days later just as she was laying down for sleep. "Hello?" She said

"Asami?" She heard Korra ask. "I got a message that I had to call this number."

"Yeah, listen you need to come home." Asami told her as she sat up.

She heard Korra laugh. "You miss me that much?" She teased and started laughing a bit louder.

"Korra, Mako was in an accident." Asami said cutting the laugher off. "He was helping out in a fight and one of the guys electrocuted him. He's in the hospital and doing alright, Bolin is with him, but it's still touch and go. You need to come home." Korra was silent. "Korra? Are you there?"

There was silence and then, "Yeah, I'm here. Naga and I will be home in a couple days." She heard her friend's voice catch a bit.

"Korra what are you going to do about the Avatar duties? Tenzin wanted to wait until Mako woke up to tell you so you wouldn't leave them."

"They can wait. I can always go back to traveling and doing that stuff. Like you said. I need to get home." Korra told her sternly.

Asami gave a small smile. "Alright, we'll be waiting." The two hung up and Asami was off to the hospital to see if anything had changed. Walking into Mako's room, he saw Bolin still sitting in the chair watching his brother. "Any news?" She asked. Bolin shook his head sadly. "Well I talked to Korra."

Bolin looked up at her as she walked to the other side of the bed. "Did you tell her?"

"Yeah, she's coming home. She said she would be home in a couple days." Asami told him with a small smile before looking at Mako. "She really does love him."

"Yeah. He loves her too." Bolin said softly before looking at her. "He cares for you but he really is in love with Korra." Asami nodded.

"I know Bolin. They are good together. He can keep her in line and she can annoy him." She smiled making Bolin chuckle. The two settled in to wait for Korra to arrive.

Korra arrived at the temple where she ran into Tenzin and Asami talking about Mako. "Where is he?" She demanded.

"Korra? You're… but you're…." Tenzin sputtered. "Why are you here?"

"I know about what happened to Mako. Where is he?" She demanded again. She saw the sad look on Asami's face as she looked away from Tenzin's gaze. "Asami." Korra said softly as the worst scenario filtered through her mind. "Where-where is he?" Asami reached out and pulled her into a hug, shocking her.

"He's still in the hospital." Asami told her softly. "He's still out but the injuries are healing." She said as she pulled back. "Go tell Bolin to get sleep and be with your boyfriend." Asami gave Korra a smile. the two young women had become close friends even as Asami was Mako's ex and Korra was his girlfriend now, they looked passed all of that to a friendship. Korra smirked before she ran off with Naga at her heels. Asami looked back at the confused and utterly lost Tenzin.

"Boyfriend?!" He finally got out as Asami nodded with a small smile.

"They've been going out since the south pole when Korra got her bending back. They didn't want to cause any problems or anything so they only told me and Bolin. That's why Korra had to know right away."

Korra could hear Tenzin nearly explode saying the word as she hopped onto Naga and they were off to the hospital. "Stay out here girl." Naga gave a whine before settling down and Korra made her way through the hospital until she found where Mako was. She saw Bolin lounging in the chair, sound asleep snoring making Korra grin. She walked over and shook his shoulder making him jump.

"What? Is something wrong?" He asked coming out of his sleepy haze before he saw Korra. He smiled as he pulled her into a hug and let a few tears slid. "Korra!"

"Bolin, I think you should get some sleep." She said as they pulled apart.

"I know, I just…. I couldn't leave him…. it reminds me of when we were kids." He finished softly. Korra reached out, putting her hand on his shoulder.

"Get some sleep. I'll stay with him and when you're rested you can come back and sit with him." She offered and saw him nod reluctantly as he looked back to Mako. "I'll let you know if anything happens."

"Okay." He agreed.

"Take Naga." She told him and saw him nod again before he looked at Mako one last time and left.

"Take care of him." Bolin smirked as he left.

Korra looked at her boyfriend before walking over and sitting in the chair Bolin had just occupied. She still had her tough exterior, stubborn self but being with Mako, being able and sometimes forced to show her feelings and to talk had begun to sink in. She felt her heart break as she reached out to grab his calloused hand that had always grabbed hers first. Her chest tightened when she squeezed it and received nothing back. She felt the tears well in her eyes when it really started to sink in as to how hurt he was, and that she may never hear him yell at her or tell her how much he loved her again. She could only sit there, holding his limp hand as thoughts raced through her mind.

She jumped hearing a knock at the doorway making her instinctively pull her hand back as she turned. "It's just me." Asami said as she walked closer. "I wanted to give this to you." She said handing Korra the two letters from Mako's jacket. "Figured you'd like to hold on to them and see what he was going to be sending to you. He had them in his jacket. Bolin said he carries your newest letter around with him until he gets another." Korra gave a sad smile as she took the papers. "He'll be okay." She looked at Mako. "Maybe if you talk to him you'll feel better. I heard people who are unconscious can still hear their loved ones talking to them."

Asami shrugged before excusing herself and leaving. Korra sat back in the seat and opened the letters. She found the one she had sent him not long ago and smiled before she looked at the other one in his sloppy handwriting and she could not help the small smirk as she started reading what he had written her.

'_Korra. I got your letter about Ba Sing Se. Bolin is dyeing to hear from you now to find out all about the earth city. He is becoming extremely annoying thanks to you. I'm glad that you and Naga made it there without any trouble. The Avatar cannot have her friends bailing her out and saving her butt every time she's in trouble. The kids are good, Meelo has been trying to teach Rohan how to air bend already and has been using his sisters and Pema as the targets. Tenzin and Lin have been busy working on the city and restoring the order. _

_We need to save up enough money to get a place and Bolin wants to pro-bend again. If I can get enough money for him, he could compete and maybe the fire ferrets will win. It will be good for Bo to be able to win all the way through as the captain. He keeps asking me to go back and he's going to bombard you as soon as you call, but you have to travel and I have the job now._

_I wish I could have gone with you. I know you can take care of yourself, I know you're the avatar but I still go out of my mind thinking about what could happen to you. I couldn't imagine my life without you now that I have you in it. Be careful and come back soon. And remember to call Bolin._

_I love you Korra._

_Mako' _

Korra felt a tear fall down her cheek as she looked back to her boyfriend lying in the hospital bed. They had talked about their feelings on more than one occasion since she gained her bending back six months ago. Korra was still very new at the relationship ways of life but it was slowly sinking in and she was beginning to let herself relax into the position. Slowly she reached out taking his calloused hand again. She pushed aside her tough Avatar exterior and let herself be herself; she was just Korra, girl from the southern water tribe, the girlfriend of Mako.

"Mako…. I didn't get to see much of the city. I was only there for a few days when Asami called me about you. So Bolin's gonna have to wait to hear all about it. I'm sure he'll be a great captain just like you were, and he'll make it all the way through and win the championship. I know he really appreciates what you do for him." She paused a minute watching his slumbering expression before she glanced at the door. Slowly she moved closer to him so she was inches from his ear. "I feel the same way when I leave. Knowing what you're into here and I'm not here to help you. It drives me crazy, but I know you'll always come out okay. Don't make me look like a fool now. I love you city boy." She whispered as she scooted closer so she could lay her head on his arm as her hand gripped his tightly and she dozed off, exhausted from her traveling and the emotions she was going through.

Mako cracked his eyes before blinking several times to clear his vision. Looking up he saw a white ceiling, furrowing his brow he looked around the room. He looked down to find Korra bent over in the chair with her head on his shoulder and her hand in his. He tried to think back to find a reason he was in the hospital, a reason Korra was there. He felt her start to move and lift her head.

"Hey." He croaked as her eyes went wide.

"Mako!" She cried out as she jumped onto him hugging him tight making him wince. She pulled back with a smile. "I thought you were never going to wake up."

"Why are you here?" He asked furrowing his brows at her as she sat back crossing her arms.

"Thought you'd be happy to see me. I mean after that letter you wrote…" She trailed off as she held up the paper teasingly with a small smile.

"Where'd you get that?"

"Bolin gave it, and my letter, to Asami so she could find me to tell me what happened. When I got here she gave them to me." She explained and saw his amber eyes searching her blue ones. "You really had Bolin afraid." She changed the subject as she crossed her arms.

"What?" Mako asked as she shifts in topic threw him off in his stupor.

"Bolin was afraid. You should have seen him when I got here. He didn't want to even leave and get sleep. He said it reminded him of when you were kids." She watched as Mako plopped his head back into the pillow and looked at the ceiling.

"I shouldn't have been so rash." He said softly as he closed his eyes as his memory flashed of the two standing in the room, saying goodbye to their parents before he pulled his brother away. He felt a hand on his arm making him open his eyes to look at Korra who sat with a small smile.

"You were doing your job. I think seeing you unconscious in here freaked him out. He knows you were just doing your job and helping to other cops." She saw him give a little smile. "Just don't go doing it again or I'll have to kill you." Mako could not help the smile that came to his face as he ran a callused hand gently over her cheek.

"I doubt you could." He said making her lean into his touch with a grin.

Korra leaned down to hover inches from his face. "We'll see about that." He closed the distance and pulled her closer, giving her a loving kiss. Someone clearing their throat made Korra jump back to her seat as both looked at the doorway stunned. There stood Bolin, Asami and Tenzin. Korra tried to look innocent as Mako tried to shrink away.

"Looks like you're feeling better." Asami smirked as she walked in with Bolin running to Mako and pulling him into a tight hug. Mako winced at first but brought his arms around to hold his younger brother.

"I'm sorry Bo." He said softly so only Bolin and Korra were the ones to hear.

"You were doing your job. Besides you're still here." Bolin grinned. "That's what matters." Mako smiled as they pulled apart. He knew that they had friends who would help them now but when it really came down to it, they were still the same-orphaned brothers who took care of each other.

"How do you feel?" Asami asked making Mako look at her.

"Sore." He said simply.

Asami smirked as she glanced at Korra sitting silently. "You didn't look that sore." Mako just gave an un-amused look as Korra rolled her eyes. "You really need to be more careful."

Korra smirked. "Yeah, not all of us can sit around waiting for you to wake up. Some of us have duties."

"Speaking of duties." Tenzin spoke up for the first time making everyone look at him.

"I know, I know. But Tenzin, I couldn't just ignore it. I can't keep the world in balance when I'm not in balance." Korra told him making him stroke his beard thinking.

"You've been in contact with Avatar Aaang haven't you?" Korra grinned as Tenzin rolled his eyes. "Once Mako is completely healed we will discuss where you will go next to continue your Avatar duties." Korra glanced at Mako before giving a nod. "It is good to see you are awake and doing well." He told Mako who nodded his thanks. "I have a council meeting so I will see you all later." Tenzin left the young adults alone to talk and tease each other.

A week later Mako was back to fire bending at the temple with Korra. He had been released two days after waking up and was now getting his body back in shape for bending and his job. He still was slightly weak and needed to take breaks but he was getting better every day. Korra moved out of the way of a blast but tripped as she spin sending her off balance making Mako step forward and catch her before she fell to the ground only to have both of them fall. The two smirked at each other before Korra stood up and held out a hand to help him back to his feet.

"You're getting clumsy." Mako teased. "Or are you doing that on purpose?" Korra crossed her arms and stuck out her tongue making him smirk at her. Mako reached out wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "Let's take a break for the night."

"We can start working more in the morning." Korra agreed before she pulled from his grasp, took the scarf from around his neck and started running.

"Korra!" He yelled before chasing after her. She laughed and stuck her tongue out at him before continuing to run. Mako huffed and followed her. He finally caught up to her, wrapping his arms around her as he spun her around. She laughed as he set her back on her feet. "What did you think would happen?" He asked as she turned to smile at him.

"I thought I could get farther." Mako saw her lift the scarf up and wrap it around his neck. "I might not be a normal girl like Asami when it comes to us being together, but I do like to have time alone with you on my time off from being the Avatar." Mako pulled her closer.

"You don't need to be like Asami or normal. That's what I love about you. I don't care if you're the Avatar or not." He told her making her smile before they leaned in to kiss. Pulling apart, Mako pulled Korra to him and held her tight. "Let's go down to the beach tonight." Korra pulled back and looked at him. "You wanted a night to be Korra." He said making her smile before she grabbed his hand and started towards the beach.

"Then let's make the most of the Korra, Mako time." She laughed leading him. The two spent the night relaxing on the beach together. Korra smiled. Mako's injury had brought her away from her Avatar duties, and she could not be happier that she was able to stay until he was completely healed. She sighed thinking about how fast he was healing. It was almost time for her to go back to her duties and she wanted to be the Avatar the world wanted and needed but she wanted to be a normal girl from the water tribe who was dating a fire-bending city boy.

"What's wrong?" Mako asked, opening his eyes in the darkness of the night.

"I just don't want to leave this. I want to be the avatar, I want to help the world but I want to stay right here. I want to be Korra not the Avatar. It's nice to be treated so well everywhere but sometimes it gets boring being treated like royalty, having my life planned and run for me."

"Then be Korra while you can." He tried. "Maybe I should go with you to keep you from getting too high and mighty." He smirked as he held her tight. "I think I should take a vacation after everything anyway."

"Mako-"

"I want to be with you, Korra. I don't want to be stuck here while you're out traveling around the spirits know where. I need to know you're taken care of."

"And you think you can take care of me?" She teased making him chuckle.

"I can try can't I?" The two relaxed laughing and teasing each other about traveling together before they drifted off to sleep with no worries in the world. They just wanted to be Korra and Mako, girlfriend and boyfriend for a night with no one to ruin it.


End file.
